One of the reasons that I continue to buy TCS products for my own installations is that they have, hands down, the best tech support I’ve ever encountered for, well, anything—including telling me when to stop using one of the products. In the process of learning how to get a Z2 into the Lemke/Hobbytrain Plasser & Theurer Duomatic ballast tamper (say that 10 times fast), I burned not one, but two decoders. As it happens, in both cases it was the motor drive. I didn’t know this (although I suspected it) until Arthur called me at home.
Apparently, submitting two dead decoders with an installation report gets his attention, and rightly so. We had a great discussion about what might have been going wrong with my installs—in no small part to minimize the number of future dead decoders I send them! What came out of that discussion surprised me a bit. Although it doesn’t come across in the Z2 spec sheet, apparently the Z2 is a bit of a delicate decoder. Arthur strongly urged against using it in future N-scale conversions.
Although the first dead decoder was easily explained by the fact that the Duomatic’s trucks bridge the motor and frame in sharp turns, the second dead decoder was a little bit of a mystery to me. I thought maybe the motor was drawing too much current, but I measured the stall current of the motor—0.4A@12VDC, well below the rated specs of the Z2. Total mystery. Despite my care in testing the decoder prior to putting on the tracks, I figured it must have been something I did. Had I not this experience—of watching it die under mysterious circumstances—, I would have doubted Arthur’s warning (despite the fact that he is TCS tech support, and I am not). But I think he is right. I think maybe the Z2 is not suitable for my purposes.
So, it is with great regret that I am striking the Z2 from the recommended list of motor decoders. I still think that the Z2 should be a very good choice for certain cab car installations, but we shall see when I attempt my first such installation in a few weeks.
Good for TCS!